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by jwatte 3567 days ago
The fact that you think an engineer can be "outed" is a culture problem.

The process failed the engineer. Testing, deployment, and monitoring infrastructure was not up to the task of supporting human beings. That it happened to be triggered by engineer X instead of engineer Y is entirely coincidental.

The audience of the post mortem matters. When I see the two line summary, I have no idea whether that's a CYA whitewash, or a sincere part of a process of improvement. When I see the full PM, it builds more trust.

If you're not an engineer capable of understanding the details, it may have a different effect. And if you're part of a corporate culture of politics, shaming, and status chasing, it must feel totally alien.

Three cheers for transparency!